Windows 9 isn’t expected to arrive until early next year, but you’ll be able to check it out much sooner. As they always do, Microsoft is reportedly planning to offer up a public download ahead of the RTM — and it could happen as soon as next month.

If you’re anxiously awaiting the arrival of Metro apps on the desktop and the resurrection and retooling of the Start Menu, you may only have to wait until the end of September to see how they look in Windows 9. Sources who spoke with ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley also say that it’s possible the Windows 9 preview download may be offered up early in October. It’s been pegged for an October release before, though last time leakers thought it would be the final build.

There’s also talk of a more streamlined download process. With Windows 8, you had to start fresh each time a preview release was made available. If Microsoft is actually planning to make things less clunky with the Windows 9 preview, you may not have to do anything more than ensuring Windows Update is enabled.

Previous rumors suggest that they’re only going to release a single preview build. If that’s the case, they’ll need to push any updates that need testing to users automatically. You will probably still have to start from scratch once Windows 9 hits retail shelves, however. It would be great if they made it easy to move from the preview build to the RTM, but we probably shouldn’t expect that this time around.

Microsoft is no doubt anxious to get Windows 9 into the hands of Windows 8 detractors. Windows 8 has been looked upon as a Vista-esque disappointment, though 8.1 and subsequent updates have delivered numerous changes aimed at mollifying disgruntled users. A successful rebound with Windows 9 is just what they need to kick off the “one Windows for all devices” era.